


a family can be two boyfriends, a band, and a class that has been (mostly) akumatized

by MercurialComet



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, Lila Rossi Lies, Luka can have a bf. as a treat, M/M, but you know what? i can do what i want, character insertion and all that jazz, the first chapter doesn't do much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24315274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercurialComet/pseuds/MercurialComet
Summary: aka this is the au where luka and his bf adopt the miracuclass over time.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Original Male Character(s), The entire class - Relationship, platonically - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> oh well

“Luka!” Marinette turned to face the shout as she watched a boy around Luka’s age come running onto the boat, giving him a hug. “Are you alright? I saw what happened to the Liberty, and Captain Hardwick-”

“Hey, Z.” Luka said with a smile, patting the top of the shorter boy’s head. “We’re fine, everything’s back to normal now. Don’t you still have practice?”

“Nope. Raised enough hell to leave early.”

Juleka gagged as the two broke apart. “Thanks for caring so much about us all, Zayn.”

The boy, apparently named Zayn, gasped into his hands. “Oh, I’m such a horrible father, how could I forget about my lovely Jewel-”

“Your flattery is noted. Your apology is accepted. You still keep the rights to date Luka.”

“Yes!”

Marinette looked at everyone else on the boat, trying to see if they were as confused as she was. Only Adrien, Nino, and Alya seemed to be. “Uh, who are you?”

Zayn turned around and looked at Marinette. “Zayn Primes Tanas. Training gymnast and unofficial Couffaine.”

Anarka laughed. “You’ve cracked that joke so many times you may as well just change your last name!”

Luka looked at Zayn with an eyebrow raised. “I thought we would get our names hyphenated?” Zayn shrugged.

Nino broke his silence, holding his hand out. “Hey, nice to meet you dude, I’m Nino.” The two shook hands. “That’s Alya-” she waived excitedly- “-Adrien-” he waved casually- “- and Marinette.”

Marinette paused before waving awkwardly, staring at Zayn. He had darker skin than Nino, probably even Max. His black hair was braided into a small bun in the back, and his eyes were a very dark color. He really did seem like he ran from a practice: wearing a black and gold tank top, black sweatpants, and gold sneakers that matched his nose ring. Juleka’s words were still in her head.”You’re dating Luka?”

“Yeah.” Zayn smiled. “It’s been, what, 3 years?”

“Only if you count the break.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

As Zayn quickly got up onto his toes to kiss Luka on the cheek, Marinette heard Alya mutter to herself. “I guess there’s only one statue now, huh?”

* * *

Gabriel’s fashion show was giving Marinette butterflies in her stomach. And sweat on her forehead as she ran to the venue. She followed Nathalie in the building, awkwardly passing by the Bourgeois family before Adrien got the hat.

As she made her way down to the front row, she saw Luka and Zayn sitting in the general admissions area. The two spotted her and waved, Zayn mouthing, “You’ll be fine!” at her. It made dealing with Audrey Bourgeois a bit more tolerable.

* * *

During the Paris Rebellion, Marinette is sure that she spots Luka working to keep everyone’s spirits up while Zayn danced around him, taking potshots at different akumas with a slingshot and a weight tied to rope. The whole scene of the revolt manages to fill her heart with hope as she continues to run from the akumas.

* * *

Kitty Section has been working really hard during these past two weeks. Marinnette had managed to show up to a few of their practices as she designed their new look, and she was amazed at how polished they sounded. Ivan was amazing on the drums, the Couffaines worked well together when it came to the guitar and bass, and Rose’s confidence in her voice soared, making their video come out really well.

They had entered the video a few weeks ago, and now Marinette sat next to Zayn as they watched Kitty Section go through their setlist again. Marinette groaned as she checked her emails again.

Zayn looked at her worriedly. “What’s wrong, spindle?”

“Spindle?”

“Like a seamstress’ spindle?” The gymnast shrugged as the band took a break.

Luka walked over to the two. “Ignore him. He always tries out different nicknames for everyone. Right now Juleka is-”

“Mambo No. Seven!” Juleka shouts over.

“That’s not my best work! The group chat name is better!”

“Anyway, Marinette,” Luka said, “Still no news from the contest?”

Marinette’s smile dropped. “Maybe they didn’t like our song.” 

“Hey, don’t say that.” Zayn said, pulling out his own phone. “They probably have a ton of submissions. Maybe they’re still going through them.”

“Uh, guys?” Ivan said, “You might want to take a good look at this.”

* * *

After Kitty Section’s performance, Marinette noticed Luka looking at his phone and smiling. She slid next to the musician and tapped his shoulder. “What made you so happy?”

Luka blushed and held his phone out so she could see Zayn’s post: 

_ “That’s my BOYFRIEND on LIVE TV! The guitar player of Kitty Section! This is the start of HIS fancam, and he deserves one! And let’s not forget about the greatness of Kitty Section as a whole! Those are my children, they make me so proud, this is a Kitty Section Stan Account Only.” _

She giggles when she sees how many people have liked it. “It looks like you already have a fan club president.”

Luka sighs, pulling the phone back. “Yeah. We do.” The smile on his face was contagious, and Marinette wondered why Luka gave her a love confession when he was already dating Zayn.

* * *

“It makes no sense Tikki.” Marinette groaned. “Luka and Zayn love each other, why would he say that to me?”

Tikki hummed. “Maybe his love for you is different from his love for Zayn?”

“What? How does that work?”

“You love Alya, right?”

Marinette smiled. “Yeah, she’s a great friend. Nino too. A lot of people in class are.”

“But that’s not the same love you have for your parents, is it?” Tikki asked. “And it’s not the same feelings you have for Adrien.

“So, you think that Luka loves me, but not in the way that he loves Zayn?” Marinette said, thinking it over. “It makes sense. I just wish I knew how he viewed it.”

“Well, if you hang out with him more, you can find out!” Tikki said cheerfully. “And you two can be even closer friends!”

“That’s true! Thanks Tikki.”

* * *

Marinette was walking out of the school with Alya and Nino when Juleka and Rose came up to them. “Marinette!” Rose shouted, before quickly apologizing and lowering her voice. “Zayn has a gymnastics meet today, and the rest of Kitty Section are going to go support him. It feels wrong to leave you out, so do you want to come with us?”

“I don’t think I have anything to do.” Marinette mused, “Can Alya and Nino come if they want to?”

“Sure.” Juleka stated. “We won’t complain. I’ll text you the details. It opens in an hour.”

“Great!” Alya said, grabbing both Marinette and Nino’s hands. “That gives us just enough time to drop off our school stuff and get ready! See ya there!”

* * *

“So,” Alya started, pointing at Rose’s sign. “What’s with the sign?”

Marinette looked closer at the sign and read it, “You got this, Dad!”

Rose blushed. “Well, Zayn helped me with my voice for Kitty Section, and there’s already a joke with everyone in Kitty Section that he and Luka are the band’s dads-”

“Which is mostly true.” Luka interrupted, bringing snacks with him. “Zayn has a habit of treating all his younger friends like his cousins, and he treats his cousins like they’re his children.”

“-And the only reason that this sign doesn’t say ‘Cool Dad’ is because I would’ve ran out of paint.” Rose finished with a pout. Ivan nudged her shoulder and handed her another sign. “Ivan! When did you have time to do this!”

“I asked Adrian to do it and drop it out of his window.” Ivan shrugged. “Apparently, the meet’s being live streamed, so he’s still able to watch it.”

“We need to add him to the Kitty Section group chat.” Luka hummed, taking his seat. “And Marinette, too.”

“Look, there he is!”

Everyone turned to look at the floor as Zayn walked onto it, rubbing his hands together. Kitty Section and company cheered as he took his mark, and the gymnast looked up and smiled at that before he looked forward again, ready to begin.

“What’s he competing in?” Marinette asked.

“He’s going for all-around. So, it’s floor, vault, parallel bars, horizontal bar, pommel horse, and rings.” Luka said casually, like he had heard this list so many times he could recite it in his sleep. “He’s been practicing with everything, so he should do great.”

Zayn took off in a sprint, and began his floor routine with a seemingly impossible series of flips and twists, landing perfectly.

“I think he’ll be fine, dudes.” Nino said, eyes wide in amazement.

* * *

“It’s the last rotation,” Alya said, “What are the scores?”

Juleka looked up at the scoreboard. “He’s two-tenths behind first place, but that’s doable, right?”

“Gymnastic scores are finicky.” Rose said. “I think he could pull it off.”

“He’s up against some stiff competition.” Nino commented, “Look at the guy in first place.”

The group turned to look at the current leader, who was staring across the arena at Zayn. The glare on his face was obvious.

Alya let out a low whistle. “Wow, he looks like he hates Zayn. Wonder why?”

“Is it because Zayn is in second?” Ivan said, “Why would you worry so much about second place when you just need to do good enough to keep the lead?”

Luka had a small frown on his face, pulling out his phone. “I don’t like it. Let me text him quickly.”

The group saw Zayn check his phone and look directly into the glare thrown his way. The two gymnasts looked at each other for a few seconds before they broke eye contact. Luka’s phone started ringing, and he put it on speaker. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Zayn’s voice sounded kind of metallic through the phone’s speakers. “What’s his problem?”

“We don’t know.” Juleka said, twirling a lock of her hair. “He’s just staring.”

“And angry.” Ivan added.

“Hey, Z,” Nino said, “Do you know who that is?”

Zayn shook his head. “Not at all, Nino. I’m still relatively new in France. People still avoid me like the plague.”

“That’s garbage.” Alya complained, “You put as much work into this as everyone else does. Why are they avoiding you?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. I think I’m about to go up soon.”

Luka cut in. “Alright. Do your best. Love you.” The younger kids awed at the soft look on his face as he spoke.

“Love you too, Luka. I’ll see you with a golden medal soon.” Zayn’s chuckling was cut off by the end of the call, and everyone’s head turned to face him as he placed his phone down and walked over to the pommel horse.

Juleka let out a snort, surprising everyone in the stands. “Oh, he’s won.”

“Why?”

“Pommel horse is his best event. I’ve never seen him make a mistake.” Juleka explained. “He makes it look effortless. Watch.”

Marinette turned her head to watch just in time to see Zayn swing himself up onto the horse, pushing himself into a spinning handstand to start with. The audience gasped as he swung downwards, watching as he kept on swinging around on the pommel horse as if it was nothing for him. The audience “oohed” as he quickly swung around on one hand, completing a whole turn before he got back to the rest of the routine. His dismount was one of the better ones of the meet, textbook and perfect as the audience cheered, the Kitty Section group standing up and waving their signs. 

Zayn smiled as he walked away from the horse, hugging his coach. Alya still looked shocked. “What just happened?”

The Couffaine siblings smiled as Juleka spoke. “Zayn just won this competition.”

* * *

Zayn ended up winning by one-half of a point, and Luka led the group towards the floor of the arena as he held up his gold medal. They had all barely touched the ground before the angry gymnast walked up to Zayn and started shouting at him.

Marinette shared a look with Alya as the group got closer, now able to make out the words to the tirade. “-he’s probably cheating!”

“How could I cheat?” Zayn asked, standing his ground. “I was the first person on everything in my group. It would be obvious if I cheated.”

The gymnast sneered. “You probably bribed a judge!”

The judges looked affronted at the idea, and there were a lot of mutters and whispering between the adults at the scene.

Zayn just laughed and waved at his coach, picking up his bag and meeting the group. The angry gymnast looks affronted at the fact that he’s being left behind. Zayn quickly hugs Luka before he points at his medal. “Told you I’d see you with it.”

Luka pecked the top of his head. “You did. Can we go celebrate now?”

“Yes!” The group cheered as they walked out, on their way to a restaurant.

* * *

Zayn was on cloud nine as he took a sip of his smoothie, leaning on Luka. Marinette smiled as Alya and Nino kept on asking him questions about gymnastics, Juleka and Rose stayed quiet as they ate their smoothies, and Ivan had left earlier, on the phone with Mylene.

“Damn,” Nino said, “That was your worst injury?”

“Yeah. Landed directly on my face and broke my nose. No one in the gym let me live it down for months.” Zayn pulled out his phone and tapped it a few times before he looked up again. “Do you want to see a picture of it?”

Nino and Alya practically leapt out of their seats, shouting “Yes!”. Zayn handed them the phone and laughed at their reactions. Marinette noticed Luka look down at his boyfriend with a soft smile on his face.

Alya’s face fell as she held out Zayn’s phone. “You might want to check your notifications.”

Zayn’s eyebrow raised. “What’s wrong, newsbeat?” He said, taking the phone and tapping it. The longer he stared at the screen, the more narrow his eyes became.

Luka’s smile dropped a little, and he calmly leaned over and covered the screen with his hand. “Hey, whatever that is, it’s not true, and you know it.”

“Yeah.” Zayn said, sighing as he put his phone away. “You’re right. It’s nothing. I’ll tell you about it later.”

Marinette felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out. A few seconds later, everyone’s phone was letting out alarms, not only at their table, but throughout the entire restaurant. People pulled out their phones and tapped the screen, watching something on their phones.

Alya turned off her phone and looked at Zayn with pity in her eyes. “Hey, wanna leave?”

“It’s probably best if we do.” Luka said, worriedly keeping an eye on Zayn as he started picking up their things. “Juleka-”

“I’m already calling Max to see what he can do about this.” Juleka said, bringing her phone to her ear. Rose was whispering to Zayn, keeping him in a conversation as the group started to leave.

As they left, the sound of the different clips followed them out:

“He’s not even French, he’s American!”

“He’s built like a beast, isn’t he?”

“You know, if we painted our skin darker-”

“-impressed they allow him to compete at this level when he’s obviously older-”

Rose’s scream alerted everyone in the area to the akuma right before it flew into the gold medal around Zayn’s neck. Alya and Nino immediately left, Nino pulling the reporter away to a safer place. Marinette ran in a different direction alone while Juleka and Rose ran together, and Luka gave Zayn a concerned look before he backed up, staying nearby, but just out of touch.

* * *

_ Rallier. I am Hawk Moth. I have heard that you have been wronged and slandered, with malicious words used against you. How would you like to- _

“Zip it. I don’t want to get revenge for myself, especially with your help.”

_ But who said it’s only for you? You must know others who have also been wronged. _

“Well, there are a few-”

_ You know, you made a great leader during the resistance. How would you like to lead a second resistance for those who have been harmed by others? I just need two things to keep your movement going: Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculi! _

“Is that what you want? I’ll have them deliver it to you directly.”

* * *

The crowd parted, running and screaming as the transformation ended. Standing in the middle of the street was the Akuma, standing tall and proud, dressed as an American strongman.

Nino pulled Alya’s sleeve as they hid in an alley. “I think it’s time to go, Als,” he whispered.

Alya pulled her arm back, continuing to stream the scene. “This is Ladybug’s only source of information about the Akuma right now!” She whispered back, zooming in on the long ribbon that the Akuma was holding, focusing on the gold medal at the end of it. “See? If I didn’t let her know about this Paris would be at risk!”

The couple watched as the Akuma turned to face them, a smile dancing onto his face. “Hey,” he said, walking closer to the two. “What’s wrong? Who hurt you?”

Nino pulled even harder on Alya’s sleeve. “Alya-”

“I can help you deal with them, you know.” The Akuma continued, stopping in the middle of the street with his arms up. “It doesn’t hurt, I promise.”

Alya kept on recording. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Rallier. It’s nice to meet you.” Rallier lazily swung his ribbon around, the gold medal humming as it flew through the air. “Here, let me help.”

“How-” Alya was cut off as the ribbon shot forward twice, the gold medal tapping both her and Nino. A gold circle appeared on the backs of their hands, and their eyes narrowed. “You know,” Alya started, turning off her phone. “Chloe is always saying horrible things about everyone in class."

“Yeah.” Nino said, “Let’s go tell her to stop.”

Rallier’s smile grew. “You go do that! I believe in you.” The couple left quickly, and Rallier kept on walking down the street, his ribbon stretching out to tap more and more people.

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir landed in front of Rallier as he made his way back to the arena. “Hold it, Rallier!”

Rallier stopped, tying his ribbon around his waist and waving at the two heroes. “Oh, hello! IT’s nice to meet you two. Would you mind giving up your Miraculous?” 

“No!”

“Aw man.” Rallier sighed. “I don’t want to fight you two. Can we just let this go on longer? There are a lot of people who want to talk with those who hurt them.”

Ladybug felt her stomach drop. “What do you mean?”

“Uh, my Lady?” Chat Noir said, tapping her shoulder and pointing off to the side. The two heroes watched as one man angrily kicked the shin of another man before grabbing his own in pain. The glow of the golden circles caught their eyes.

Ladybug looked back at Rallier, holding her yo-yo at the ready. “What did you do, Rallier?”

The Akuma laughed as he stood there, watching the two men. “I just gave the power to the people! So many people are hurt by others and they can’t do anything about it except take it. I’m allowing them to safely deal with their issues.”

“Safe?” Chat Noir asked, pulling out his baton. “We just saw someone get hurt!”

Rallier shrugged. “He shouldn’t have tried to hurt someone else.”

“We can’t let you do this,” Ladybug said, “People are going to get hurt when this becomes out of control.”

“Well,” Rallier said, pulling out the ribbon and medal. “If you can’t think about letting people be better, then I’ll just have to make you!”

Both heroes dodged out of the way of the medal as it flew towards them. Chat Noir ran in tand struck with his staff, forcing Rallier to sidestep the swing and pull the ribbon back.

Rallier moves quickly, readjusting his grip on the ribbon before wrapping it around Chat Noir's arm. He twists the ribbon to force Chat Noir to one knee. "You don't want to hit me," he warned, looking Ladybug directly in the eye. "It won't work out well for you."

Ladybug threw her yo-yo, catching Rallier around the leg. As she pulled the yo-yo back, she saw Rallier fall backwards before she felt her own leg be pulled out from under her. She fell back with a light scream before getting up quickly, Chat Noir by her side again. "Everything that we do to him gets done to us," she warned, readying her yo-yo again. "Be careful."

"Got it, follow the golden rule."

"Chat!" 

Rallier's medal flew between the two heroes before it was pulled back, dragging attention back to him. He did not look happy. "I warned you not to hit me," he said, walking closer and swinging the ribbon. "But no! Let's just lash out at a person we dislike! Maybe I was wrong to try and be peaceful."

His eyes narrowed, and the heroes saw the medal start to glow red. "Maybe, just maybe, it would be better if I ripped those Miraculi off of you by any means necessary."

Ladybug threw her yo-yo behind her and grabbed her partner, the two heroes flying away from the angered Akuma. As they landed and hid on another rooftop, they stayed silent as they heard him look around the area before he moved on.

Chat Noir looked nervous. "So, how do we defeat an Akuma that we can't hit, that's also hunting us down? He spots us once and we'll be on the wrong end of that medal."

"We just need a way to get more than one chance to figure out what to do." Ladybug said, deep in thought. "I'm going to go ask for help, do you want to come with me?"

Chat Noir saluted. "It would be an honor to escort and protect you, My Lady."

* * *

Luka was currently hiding in his room in the houseboat, hurriedly refreshing his phone and laptop for any information about Zayn that he could find. He landed on a news site that was trying to track the Akuma's whereabouts as he swung about Paris.

"He has a very Ladybug kind of swing, doesn't he?" A news anchor had said before Luka clicked off the video. He flopped onto his bed and sighed, ready to just simply fall asleep and let everything sort itself out while he wasn't awake. A knock on his bedroom window stopped him from falling asleep though, and he looked over to see Ladybug waving at him.

He quickly got out of the bed and opened the window, letting the heroine and her partner enter his room. "Is everything alright?"

Ladybug nodded. "Everything's fine. I'm sure you've heard of the new goal that Rallier has?"

"Yeah," Luka sighed. "It's hard to watch though, so I haven't been looking at every detail."

"Hey, we get it." Chat Noir said, patting his shoulder. "It's difficult to watch people you know act like that."

"How would you like to help us fix it?" Ladybug asked, pulling out a box.

Luka blinked. "What."

Chat Noir had a grin on his face as he held out a box. "How would you like to be a hero for the day?"

Luka started feeling hopeful about everything as he took the box and opened it, putting on the bracelet. "How could I help you? What do I need to-" He saw the new creature flying around his room and stopped talking, holding out his hand for the little animal to land on. "Hello, I'm Luka. What's your name?"

* * *

"Sass, scales slither!"

* * *

The three heroes were flying over Paris when they first spotted Rallier flying in between buildings. Viperion looked over at Ladybug, who nodded at him, before he twisted the snake on his bracelet back and whispered, "Second chance."

The heroes landed and immediately ducked behind a chimney. Chat Noir peeked before he took a step out. “I think we’re fi-”

The ribbon wrapped around him so fast it shocked everyone before he was pulled away, and Viperion felt himself sigh before he flicked his bracelet.

* * *

This time, he grabs Chat Noir’s shoulder. “Try something else.”

Chat Noir nodded before he climbed up the chimney and leapt upwards. The ribbon caught him around the waist and Viperion heard Ladybug facepalm before he flicked his wrist again.

* * *

The heroes landed and immediately ducked behind a chimney. Viperion grabbed Chat Noir’s shoulders. “Don’t move.”

Chat Noir nodded, standing still. Ladybug looked like she had an idea. “Viperion, you go talk to him.”

“What?” The snake hero asked, confused. “Why would that work?” 

“You know him! It would be easier for you to interact with him.” Ladybug looked desperate as she spoke. “Please?”

Viperion sighed. “Sure.” He quickly leapt off of the building and landed in the alley. He heard a second person land behind him, and he quickly ducked as the ribbon flew over him. He stood back up and faced Rallier, holding out his arms. “Hey! Care to talk?”

Rallier paused, and Viperion realized he could hear the song of the Akuma’s heart. It sounded similar to Zayn’s quick run of notes, except more melancholic and dissonant, a minor chord instead of it’s usual major. “You haven’t tried to hurt me.” Rallier noticed, pulling back the ribbon and the medal. “Why?”

“What’s the point? I’m supposed to stop people from getting hurt, and it doesn’t make sense to hurt you to do that.” Viperion said. He glanced at the way that Rallier held the ribbon and medal, and remembered Zayn’s natural curiosity that got him into rope darts and meteor hammers. “Do you want to know a secret?”

Rallier’s eyes lit up. “Sure!”

“We’ve already talked about this. You care so much for everyone-”

“That I would fight their battles for them.” The two said at the same time, Rallier surprised at the perfect mimicry. “How-”

“You know, the same people you protect care for you too, right?” Viperion took a step forward. And then another. Soon he was in front of the Akuma, simply standing there. “You can take a break from leading the troops.”

The simple phrase forced a laugh out of Rallier. “You know,” he started, “Luka hated whenever I said to rally the troops. But it’s the best for everyone, isn’t it? Fight your problems head on?”

“Maybe not for everyone. Some people like to deal with their problems privately.”

“But, if I’m making them deal with it now, I’m making them uncomfortable.” Rallier deflated. “I’m no better than the problems.”

“But you can stop it.” Viperion held out his hand. “You know, I saw Hawkmoth talking to you before you transformed. You didn’t want this in the first place.”

“I did, didn’t I? Wasn’t it the best way to-” The purple outline fell onto the Akuma’s face and both of them flinched before he shook it away. “No, you’re right. I’m causing more of a problem. Here-” he detached the medal and placed it in Viperion’s hand. “I’ll just wait here.”

Viperion nodded. “Thanks. Stay safe.” He leapt back onto the roof, holding out the akumatized object. As Ladybug took it, he detransformed. “No Lucky Charm?”

“It gave me nothing.” She admitted, breaking the medal and cleansing the akuma. As the magical ladybugs flew around Paris, Luka gave her back the Snake Miraculous. She smiled at him. “Good job.” 

“Thank you for picking me. If it isn’t too much to ask-” Luka pointed down into the alley and Chat Noir snickered.

“I got you, lover boy.” The hero said, grabbing his waist and using the baton to travel down to the street. Luka’s feet barely hit the ground before Zayn barreled into him. Their hug seemed to last for too little time as they split apart, quickly looking each other over.

“You’re not hurt-”

“Are you oka-”

“I’m fine-”

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Zayn sighed. “I’m sorry for-”

Luka pulled him into another hug, kissing the top of his head. “Hey,” he said, “It wasn’t your fault. The video was a horrible thing.”

“But still-”

“It’s alright. No one got hurt.” Luka looked down and frowned at how quiet Zayn’s heart song was. “Do you want to grab some ice-cream? I’m pretty sure we can get our flavors again.”

A small smile fell onto his face. “Sure. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

* * *

**Kitty Section GC**

**< Marinette has been added to the chat!>**

**Chill Dad:** Ah. I was just about to ask where’s our star designer.

**Mambo No. 5:** Just remembered to add her.

**Charming:** Oh, Hi Marinette!

**Marinette:** Hello!

**Cool Dad:** Oh hold up-

**< Marinette’s name is now Spindle>**

**Cool Dad:** That’s better.

**Spindle:** ...

* * *

It’s a bit after Desperada’s reign of terror that Marinette notices slight differences in the class. Sure, Lila did say that she could change the class’ attitude towards her, but it was something else entirely to see Alix and Kim quietly avoiding her.

She’s just stepped onto the Couffaine houseboat when Luka immediately comes onto the deck and gives her a hug. It’s a great feeling after what she’s seen that day.

* * *

As Kitty Section was practicing, Marinette looked up at the sound of a mug being placed in front of her. Zayn gives her a sheepish smile as he sits down with his own mug. “Is everything okay?”

Marinette shrugged. “It’s not bad?”

“It’s one of those days, huh?” Zayn said, sighing. “I get it. The tea is chamomile, by the way. You’re not allergic, right?”

“I’m not. Thanks.” Marinette sighed, taking a sip of the tea. “School was a bit rough.”

“Bad test or bad interaction?”

“Bad interaction.”

Zayn hummed, drinking from his own mug. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Marinette thought about it. It would be nice to have someone else know about Lila, and Zayn didn’t go to her school. But- “No. It’ll probably pass.”

“Alright,” Zayn said, “just take care of yourself, okay?”

Marinette nodded. “Okay.” The two continue drinking their tea in relative silence, passing the time by sharing stories.


	2. Chapter 2

Ms. Bustier’s class was on their way to the nearest gymnasium for their weekend trip a few weeks later. Kim was excited, practically jumping up and down as they walked. “I can’t believe we get to do gymnastics this year!”

“Yeah,” Alix said. “I wonder how the school managed to get an instructor for us.”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Lila asked, and Marinette fought hard not to roll her eyes. “I made a call to the coach of the local gymnastics team and asked if we could join one of their practices.“

“Oh, really?” Chloe said, looking at her phone. “Well, then you obviously must know exactly who is going to instruct us.”

“Of course I do!” Lila said without missing a beat. “We’re getting one of their better coaches for the day.”

“That’s amazing!” Mylene said. “What’s their name?”

Lila looked like she was thinking really hard for a few moments as the class crossed the street. “I don’t remember right now, but I’m sure I’ll remember when we get there!”

The class was buzzing with energy as they made their way inside the gymnasium, signing in and entering the arena where there were many different gymnasts practicing. Rose let out a shriek as one launched himself off of a trampoline and landed right in front of the class, immediately sinking into a bow as he stuck the landing. He straightened up, and the smile on Zayn’s face, without the nose ring for safety reasons, seemed to bring the class out of their shock as they started clapping. “Thanks. Is everyone here?” The class gave various noises of agreement before he clapped his hands together. “I’m Zayn, and I’ll be guiding you all through a basic gymnastics practice for the day. If you still need to change-” he pointed to some doors at the side of the arena, “there’s the locker room. Let’s get started, okay?”

The class went to go change, some class members sprinting ahead of others. Soon everyone had changed into some form of workout clothes and was back onto the floor, stretching and warming up. Zayn was great at leading the class, slowing down and making sure that everyone was staying safe. Soon, they were all standing up and Nino asked a question that was on everyone’s mind: “So, what are we doing next?”

“We’re gonna go through some jumps quickly.” Zayn answered, moving to the end of the floor. “There’s five of them, and we’re just gonna drill them for a few minutes. Ready?”

“Lila and Alya.” Ms. Bustier said, “Could you please pay attention to Mr. Tanas? It’s rather rude not to.”

Zayn glanced over at the two girls before he went back to his instruction. “Okay, so you’re gonna do a straight jump-” he jumped directly upwards, legs together and pointed downwards, “a tuck-” he pulled his knees towards his chest during this jump, “star-” a jumping jack, “straddle-” split jump, “and pike.” He finished with a pike jump and landed easily. “Everyone got it?”

The class was silent until they heard Max groan. “There is a 12% chance I am able to successfully complete this.”

Nathanael somehow had his sketchbook out, and was sketching something with hurried precision

Zayn clapped and rubbed his hands together. “You might as well try.”

* * *

After everyone had had a chance to work on the trampolines, they had lunch nearby before they returned to the arena and saw Zayn and a woman setting up a bunch of hoops and clubs on the floor.

The woman saw them first and waved. “Hello everybody, I’m Lilly. I’m the rhythmic gymnast of the group here. Zayn asked me if it would be alright if he borrowed some of the apparati, but I’m bored and I’m gonna join you all for a bit.”

“Rhythmic gymnastics?” Alya asked. “That sounds like fun.”

“It is!” Lilly agreed, picking up a hoop. “It’s basically throwing things into the air and looking cool as you’re doing it.”

Ivan and Kim’s eyes lit up at her words. “When can we start?”

* * *

“You know,” Lila says during the bit of free time before the day is over, “I hear that the gymnasts don’t really like doing anything else outside of gymnastics.”

Marinette rolls her eyes as Nino winces. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, I’m positive.” Lila stated. “I know that Zayn can’t stand music and singing.”

Rose looks confused. “But Zayn helped me with my singing for Kitty Section.”

“And that makes him such a good person!” Lila said, smiling. “He was able to put aside his anger to help you out.”

Rose nodded, seemingly unsure of herself. “Right.”

* * *

Kitty Section had a short meeting later on in the day, and Marinette isn’t surprised to hear the sound of Luka playing his guitar on the houseboat. What she is surprised about is the sound of Zayn’s voice as he sang along, a soft-sounding English song that she didn’t want to interrupt. Sadly, the two were on the deck that held the plank needed to get onto solid land, so she needed to walk past them.

They didn’t seem to care that she was there, both of them smiling and waving as she passed them. Juleka, who was coming onboard the ship, chuckled at her awkwardness. “It’s fine.” She said, giving Marinette a small, comfortable smile. “Once they start playing together, they’re oblivious to everything else.”

“Oh.” Marinette blushed.

“Don’t worry. Either way, they would probably drop everything for you.” Juleka stated. “At this point, you’re an honorary Couffaine-Tanas.”

“Real-” Marinette’s question is cut off by the sound of errant and offkey guitar notes. She turns around to see Zayn whispering something to Luka, concern clear on his face. Juleka rushes past her and also takes a spot next to Luka. Feeling that something was wrong, she cautiously went over, pulling out her phone. “Is everything alright? Should I call an ambulance?”

Luka looked shaken as he looked up towards her, a smile on his face. “Everything’s fine Ma-ma-Marinette. It’s just a small thing.”

“Hey!” Alya’s voice caused everyone to face the newcomers as they got onto the boat: Alya, Lila, and Nino. Alya and Lila were comfortably strolling side by side with joined elbows as Nino waved from behind them. “Sorry to just drop in, but Lila said she wanted to thank Zayn for the lesson today. But you know what’s the cool thing?”

Marinette got up and went to hug her friend, taking the attention away from the three at the bench. “What?”

“Lila has some form of ESP!”

Marinette blinked. “ESP? What’s that?”

“Extrasensory Perception.” Zayn said, joining the group. “I know someone who has it in his own way. If you don’t mind me asking, when did you realize it?”

“Oh, I was a little girl.” Lila said, “I couldn’t have been more than 10. I just kept on seeing a tree over and over again whenever my eyes were closed, and when I told my mother, she let me know that she just became involved with a legal battle of a tree that owns itself!”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed. Lila was lying again. 

Zayn hummed, a look of recognition in his eyes. “Oh! Where was the tree at? I think I’ve heard about this.”

There was a quiet pause before Lila spoke again. “I actually don’t quite like talking about what I see with my abilities, sometimes I see it more as a curse than a blessing.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “I mean, what I’ve seen has ruined friendships and classes before now and I just want to leave it all behind me, you know? The only way I was able to get some idea of where Zayn was now was because I forgot to take my medication.”

“Medication?”

“Of course! I mean, I wouldn’t want to cut into people’s privacy! That’s invading personal space, and I’m not a monster.”

Zayn frowned, clearly not liking what she was saying. “That’s kinda harsh, calling someone a monster because of something they can’t control.”

“But I’m not saying that a person with ESP is a monster, I would be calling myself one then.” Lila reasoned. “I’m just saying that if you’re able to get treated for it, and you don’t, then that’s untrustworthy at some level.”

Zayn crossed his arms. “Yeah, you need to go.” He stated. “You’re welcome for the lesson today, but I really don’t think I want to be anywhere near you right now if this is what you’re saying.”

Lila started bawling, and Alya looked over at Zayn. “That’s so unfair! Why does Lila have to leave?”

“Are you not listening to her? She just called people monsters!” 

Zayn and Alya fell into an argument, the two of them both trying to get their point across while getting the other one to be quiet. It took up all of Marinette’s attention, which is why she didn’t notice what was happening at the bench until Nino pushed Alya out of the way of a bolt that flew towards her.

Turning around, she saw the Akuma sitting in Luka’s place. He wore a Grecian robe and sandals, mixing dark reds and blues. His face was more visible than Silencer’s, and his hair had a crown of thread traveling through it, the tips of his hair black to match the rest of his hair. His eyes were covered by a dark red blindfold as he strummed the large, gilded lyre in his hands. “I don’t want to hurt all of you.” He said, his voice airy. “But, her song is so malicious. I have to get rid of it.” He turned to face Alya, who steeled herself. “You can help me.” He plucked a few notes on the lyre, and they seemed to combine into a small ball that launched itself at Alya and hit her, sinking into her body.

Zayn reacted instantly, grabbing Juleka’s hand and pulling her away from her brother. “Run!” All the people on the deck quickly got off the boat before Nino realised something.

“Alya didn’t come with us!”

“I think it’s too late for that.” Juleka said, pointing at Alya as she stood up stiffly and walked over to the Akuma. “This isn’t the same as Silencer.”

Ninio sighed as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll have to stream this for the Ladyblog now. Let’s find a safe place to hide.”

Marinette thought quickly. “I’m going to go back to the bakery and grab some of Luka’s favorites. He’s probably going to need them when he’s deakumatized.” She ran away from the group before anyone could do anything to stop her, quickly running into an alley and ducking into another before she transformed.

Ladybug flew back to the Couffaine boat, landing on the sidewalk in front of the plank. Chat Noir landed next to her. The Akuma stood up from his spot. “Hello, Ladybug. Chat Noir.”

“How do you know it was us?” Chat Noir asked, holding his staff in front of him. “That blindfold looks pretty dark.”

The Akuma chuckled. “It is. Luckily, I have a way of seeing the world that a lot of people just can’t understand.”

Ladybug’s eyebrow raised. “What’s your name?”

“Hmmm. Call me Orpheus. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I hear a song I need to go fix.”

Chat Noir smirked. “I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”

Orpheus tilted his head. “Shame we disagree. Alya?”

At the mention of her name, the reporter launched herself at the two heroes, immediately forcing them to split apart and evade her attack. Ladybug wraps the string of the yo-yo around her to slow her down for a few moments before noticing that the blue clouding her eyes started to vanish.

Seeing Alya outside of Orpheus’ control, Ladybug turned to see the Akuma now on dry land, still mournfully plucking his lyre. He seemed to notice that he’d been spotted, and quickly played a familiar melody, forcing Ladybug to duck off to the side as a ball launched itself towards.

“It’s kind of sad,” Orpheus said as he dodged Chat Noir and sent another musical ball at him. “Both of your heartsongs are so pretty. It feels wrong trying to guide you using them.”

“Then stop, piper!” Chat Noir said semi jokingly.

Orpheus shrugged his shoulders, playing a different melody. “You wouldn’t let me leave then. And I have a song to fix.” The heroes were in shock as the ground split in two and the Akuma jumped into the hole. It quickly closed up behind him and left the street looking normal.

“M’Lady?” Chat Noir said, shortening his baton. “I think we need help for this one.”

“You’re right.” Ladybug hooked her yo-yo around a roof structure and grabbed Chat Noir’s waist. “While we’re on our way, let’s try and figure out what Orpheus can do.”

Chat Noir hummed as she pulled the two onto the roof. “His exit makes sense thematically. In the myths, Orpheus played music to go underground.”

“But what was he saying about the heartsongs?” Ladybug wondered. “How can he control us with them?” The realization nearly had her fall off of the rooftop. “He’s playing a person’s heartsong so they can follow him.”

“And when he calls on them, he can’t use the control again!” Chat Noir finished. “It does fit the victim’s personality, he hates hurting people.”

Ladybug’s heart stopped. “You know the victim?”

“Uh, I’ve heard things about him. He was Viperion, right?”

“Yes. And I’m starting to believe that this is another Akuma that Lila caused.”

“What?” Chat Noir exclaimed as they entered the massage parlour. “Why would you think that, bugaboo?”

Ladybug shook her head, waving at Master Fu. “I’ll tell you after we get our help. Hello, Master Fu.”

“Hello, Ladybug. Chat Noir.” The old man sighed and pulled out the gramophone holding the Miraculi. “What do you need help with today?”

“The Akuma can control people by playing his lyre.” Ladybug said, refusing to talk about Luka’s abilities in front of someone who didn’t necessarily have to know about it. “We need a way to stop someone from being swayed.”

“Hm.” Master Fu, rubbed his chin as Ladybug opened the instrument and stared at the different pieces of jewelry. “Which piece of jewelry calls out to you when you think about that?”

Ladybug focused her attention onto the box, glancing over at every piece of jewelry. The fox wouldn’t work, they needed a more direct approach. The snake wouldn’t work, Luka was the snake. The bee and dragon were strong, but that carried a risk of being used against them. And the turtle-

“I don’t think Carapace’s shield can protect against music.”

Chat Noir nodded. “Probably not. Especially if it’s so targeted against a person.” 

Her eyes came across a nose ring. It shined differently in the light, and Ladybug curiously picked it up.

Master Fu smiled as a blue Kwami flew out of the jewelry. “Ah. You’re choosing the Miraculous of Determination. That’s a great choice. Stompp?”

Stompp flew in front of the heroes, and they could see that they looked like a blue bull. “Hello! Do you have a holder for me?!”

Ladybug thought about who she knew before she nodded. “I think we do, Stompp.”

* * *

Zayn had just caught up with Orpheus, hiding behind a wall as the Akuma scanned the panicked crowd of shoppers in front of him for Lila. He heard a noise behind him and quickly turned around, seeing Ladybug and Chat Noir standing in front of him. He awkwardly pointed. “Uh, Orpheus is over there. Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s absolutely al-fine!” Chat Noir said, causing Ladybug to roll her eyes. “But we do need your help.”

Zayn stood a little bit straighter, realizing what was about to happen. “Okay. I’m down with whatever you need me to.”

Ladybug smiled, holding out a jewelry box. “Great. Here is the Ox Miraculous. After this battle, you need to give it to either me or Chat Noir. Do you understand?”

“I do.” Zayn nodded, and Ladybug handed over the box. When he opened it, his eyes widened at the sight of Stompp. “Hello?”

“Hello! I’m Stompp. I’m the kwami of Determination. We have a job to do right now! Your power is two-fold: Bull’s Rush allows you to do one task perfectly, and Buck It Off kicks in whenever you’re targeted with a negative effect. You can use both abilities up to a total of 5 times, and then you have a minute before you detransform.”

“A minute?” Chat Noir asked. “That’s pretty quick.”

“It just means I gotta do my job correctly.” Zayn said, switching out his nose ring for the Miraculous. “Now, Stompp, how do I transform?”

“It’s ‘Stompp, get up’. To detransform, say ‘Woah, ride’s over’.”

Zayn smirked. “Stompp, get up!” The light of the transformation surrounded him, and when it finished, he was standing there as Paris’ newest hero. He wore a dark blue bodysuit, with gold lines flowing down the sides of his arms and body until they met the ends of his gloves and boots, which were black with gold cuffs. His dark blue mask covered the lower half of his face, a band of gold across the bridge of his nose. Finally, his hair changed from black to dark blue, with the braids now adorned with small pieces of gold jewelry.

Chat Noir whistled. ”Nice. What name are you using?”

“Uh, Auroch.” Auroch pulled out his weapon: a blue rope attached to a golden dart. “What’s the plan?”

Ladybug had called her lucky charm already, and was looking at the earmuffs in her hand. “We need to get close to him. Auroch, can you try to get his lyre?”

“On it.” Auroch immediately stepped out from his hiding spot and started walking down the street, swinging the rope around him in a way that looked confusing before catching the dart. “Orpheus!”

Orpheus turned around and faced the new hero, his hand still plucking the lyre. “Yes? Who are you?”

“Auroch. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Auroch kept on walking forward, still ready to throw the dart.

“You’re not Za-” Orpheus’ hands stopped playing and he froze. “Why is your song so familiar?”

Auroch took the opportunity, throwing the dart. “Bull’s Rush!”

The dart flew perfectly, landing in between two of the lyre’s strings and wrapping around the base of the instrument. The two started getting into a tug of war, fighting each other over control of the lyre.

Chat Noir took the opportunity, shouting “Cataclysm!” and launching himself at the lyre. Orpheus quickly reacted, yanking the lyre closer to him and tripping Chat with the rope, the cat’s superpower wasted against the pavement. The force of the trip caused the dart to dislodge itself, and Auroch worked on pulling the dart back quickly.

This gave Orpheus an opportunity, immediately playing Chat’s heartsong and capturing him. He immediately shot the bull another heartsong, and when it hit Auroch, it simply dissipated around him. Orpheus looked surprised at the ineffectiveness of his powers. “Wha-”

That was as far as he got, with Ladybug able to slip the earmuffs onto his ears and render him unable to hear what was going on around him. As quick as a bug, she danced around him and snatched the lyre out of his hands, immediately smashing it onto the ground and cleansing the akuma.

As Luka came back to himself, Ladybug immediately pulled him and Auroch off to the side, telling Chat Noir that she’ll meet up with him later. She turned to the two boys and started talking. “Alright, we need to be quick about this. Luka, do you know who everyone in that fight was?”

Luka looked embarrassed and terrified. “I have a good idea.” He muttered, taking a step closer to Auroch. “I’m sorry for intrudi-”

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Auroch said, staring up at Luka with a look of fierce determination in his eyes. “This is Hawkmoth’s fault.”

“But it was my ESP-”

“That he used against you. It’s not your fault.”

Luka sighed. “Thanks, Z.” There was a pause before his eyes widened. “I didn’t mean to say that!”

Ladybug facepalmed. “It’s fine. Chat and I need to talk about things anyway. For now, don’t let anyone know our identities. Auroch?”

“Whoa, ride’s over.” The light flashed, and Zayn was standing there again, lightly hugging Luka. He quickly replaced his nose ring and put it back in the box before handing it to Ladybug. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Ladybug nodded, throwing out her yo-yo. “Bug out!”

When she disappeared, the two boyfriends looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Luka spoke first. “You look really good as a hero.”

Zayn started stammering as Luka laughed at his reaction before kissing his forehead. “Secret identity, remember?”

“Right.” Luka said, grabbing Zayn’s hand. “Well, can I treat my boyfriend who is not a superhero to some ice cream?”

Zayn jumped up and kissed Luka on the nose. “You can.”

* * *

Chat Noir landed on the rooftop where Ladybug was sat at. “You wanted to talk, bugaboo?”

“Right.” Ladybug said, standing up. “I think that we should consider having a few more permanent heroes.”

“Hm?” Chat Noir hummed, visibly confused. “What makes you say that?”

“These past few Akumas have been kind of challenging, right?” Ladybug asked. “Syren, Orpheus, Rallier-”

“No, you’re right, Hawkmoth has started to step up his game.” Chat said seriously. “We’ve had to call in a lot of temporary heroes.”

Ladybug sighed. “And that’s what I want to talk about. I think that we should make a few of the temporary heroes permanent.”

Chat Noir hummed. “Which ones?”

“Well, Viperion knows who we are-”

“What-”

“He has ESP, and being turned into Orpheus made it work past whatever magic the Miraculous use to cover our identities.” Ladybug explained. “I told him not to share our identities, or Auroch’s, with anyone.”

“So, Viperion for one hero.” Chat said, rubbing his chin. “He’s more of a supportive hero, so we may need an offensive one to balance the team. Carapace is defensive, what about Rena Rouge?”

Ladybug thought about Alya’s current behavior thanks to Lila. There wasn’t a big event, but with the reporter’s change in behavior- “I don’t think we should put that responsibility on her. She’s also our PR, and barring a few things, she does a wonderful job.”

“She’s the girl in the chair. Kind of.” Chat realized. “Queen Bee’s identity is already known, so it’s not safe for her, and Ryuko has a busy schedule, so it would be tough for her to get to fights on time.”

“So that leaves us with Auroch.” Ladybug said, counting all of the temporary heroes on her fingers. “His powers are very useful. Especially with my lucky charm.”

“And he has a way to not be affected by akuma’s.” Chat noted. “Do you trust him to do so well after his first time?”

Ladybug thought about it. “We can test him when the next Akuma comes. Either way, he was able to make the fight with Orpheus a lot quicker than it could have been. I don’t even think that he saw Lila.”

Chat nodded. “Alright, m’lady. Should we go deliver the Miraculous now?”

“We should do it soon. Let’s allow them to rest right now.”

* * *

“So, ESP is real.” Alya said.

Zayn nodded. “As real as Andre’s ice cream.”

“And you don’t think that Lila has it.”

“Do you want my honest opinion? No.”

Alya sounded annoyed at the answer. “But why? Lila already has to deal with Marinette calling her a liar-”

“I’m not getting involved in that.” Zayn stated, crossing his arms. “I’m just letting you know that I don’t trust Lila’s claims after what she said. Now, do you want help on your physics homework or not?”

* * *

Walking into class Tuesday morning was usually the same affair: Marinette would show up a few minutes before class started, she would politely wave at everyone, and she would walk to the back of the room and take her seat next to Nathanael.

This Tuesday, unfortunately, was different. Marinette walked into the classroom and stopped at the front of the class when she realized the entire class was staring at her.

Alya spoke first. “Marinette, where’s my laptop?”

“I don’t know.” Marinette answered. “Do you want help looking for it?”

“No,” Alya said, staring Marinette down. “I want to know where you put my laptop.”

Marinette sighed. “Alya, I just got here-”

“That’s not what Lila said.”

Nino placed a hand on Alya’s shoulder. “Alya-”

Marinette was starting to get tired of this. “How is Lila supposed to know where I am at all times?”

“Are you calling her a liar?”

“Alya, I just want to take a seat at my desk and put my stuff down.” Marinette said, looking at Nino as he tried to pull the reporter back. “I asked you if you wanted help finding it, and you didn’t say anything, so I’m just going to take that as a no.”

“That’s-”

“Uh,” Everyone turned to face Marc as he poked his head in the classroom. “Alya Cesaire? I found your laptop in the cafeteria.”

Alya immediately seemed to forget the conversation as she went over and got her laptop from the writer. Nino mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to Marinette as she took her seat. Nathanael calmly slid over a piece of paper that read, “Good morning. Sorry about what just happened.”

Marinette gave him a smile before she pulled out her phone and opened her texts.

**< Lu-lu-luka>**

**hey. can you meet me at the bakery during lunch today? <**

**> can’t. i have to practice for a music showcase.**

**> i could send z if you need someone to talk to.**

**thanks. does he know where the bakery is? <**

**> i’ll let him know.**

**> stay safe today melody**

**i will. you better stay safe too <**

**> alright bug**

* * *

Zayn walked into the bakery right after Marinette came down from her room, greeting both of her parents and hugging Marinette. “Is everything okay, Spindle?”

Marinette grabbed some food out of the fridge and sat down at the dining room table. She tried her best not to drag attention to his new nose ring. “It’s just school stuff.” She said. 

“You know,” Zayn said, taking a seat at the table, pulling out his own lunch. “This is the second time you’ve been down over something at school. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“No, I do.” Marinette admitted with a frown, “But I don’t think it’s a smart idea.”

“Sometimes you just gotta turn the brain off.” Zayn said helpfully. “Do you not think it’s a smart idea for a reason, or are you just nervous about it?”

Marinette thought about it. Saying that people in her class seem to be upset with her wasn’t necessarily tying it to Lila, especially if she never brought up the girl. “I guess I’m just nervous. It isn’t everyday that my friends decide to just turn on me.”

Zayn froze, eyes widening before he took a long drink from his water bottle. “Which friends are you talking about?” He asked, his tone casual and body language tense.

“Just some friends in class.”

“Spindle-”

“It’s a little spat-”

“Marinette, the last time you said that there was a school thing going on was a month ago.” Zayn looked concerned. “Have you told a teacher? Who is your teacher, anyway?”

“Ms. Bustier.”

Zayn’s face scrunched up. “Nevermind. You probably know how Bustier likes to give examples of ‘love’ rather than actually do anything.”

Marinette paused, looking at Zayn. “You know Ms. Bustier?”

“My money wasn’t in order my first year here, so for a while I went to Francois Dupont.” Zayn said. “I was in Bustier’s class for two weeks before I forced them to transfer me to Mendeleiv.”

Marinette understood the details of the story in his tone. “Oh.”

“Yeah. But now I’m at de Artes, and we’re good now.” Zayn pointed his fork at Marinette. “But this is about you. What happened today?”

“Alya thought I stole her laptop.” Marinette said, looking down at the table.

“Alya? The reporter? Did she just randomly think you had it?”

Marinette sighed. “No. Lila said I was near it last.”

“Oh.” Zayn said. Marinette looked up and saw a frown on his face. “And you didn’t do it.”

The fact that he didn’t even ask her if she had taken the laptop caused her to start crying in relief.


End file.
